View full sizeNBA basketball veteran Jason Collins appeared with television journalist George Stephanopoulos on April 29 Los Angeles.ABC/The Associated Press

Print publication: Thursday, May 2

Jason Collins

I make The Oregonian available to my high school students each morning, and I often briefly highlight cover stories of the day. Sometimes a rigorous but respectful debate ensues over controversial issues, so I was prepared for considerable discussion on the article "'I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay'" (April 30).

However, I was greeted with few comments on the story. Surprised by their apparent apathy on the matter, I prodded for input from students. They responded with comments such as, "Why does it matter? It should be a non-issue." One student, a baseball player, added, "Should it matter that he's gay? It should only matter that he is good at what he does." The group explained that their lack of excitement about the article was far from apathy. Rather, it should be interpreted as their acceptance of this difference in others.

Stories of young people involving bullying, social indifference and gang involvement seem to be ever-present; however, I see daily evidence of a generation brimming with broad-mindedness, idealism and acceptance of all types of differences in people.

I feel sure that people who might be considered different -- those in the LGBTQ community, those with mental illness or those who have some yet-to-be-identified stigma -- will find acceptance with our future generation.

In the U.S., we spend too much time and energy questioning and concerning ourselves with a person's sexuality.

I hope that, in my lifetime, our society develops to the point at which people do not feel the need to announce their sexual preferences to the media and it does not make front-page news.

Let's all get along and accept each other without the drama.

MICHELE CHARLTON Southwest Portland

I'm a 71-year-old retired man, I'm white, and I'm filled with awe at the courage demonstrated by Jason Collins in announcing that he is gay while still an active player in the NBA.

I sincerely hope that Collins' declaration will serve as an inspiration to others who are still in the closet to come out and openly declare who they are. Not only will they be freeing themselves from their self-imposed chains, but they will be helping America move to a place where a person's sexual orientation is a non-issue.

Well done, Mr. Collins. Congratulations and good luck to you.

HENRY BENNETT Southeast Portland

Thoughts on guns

Thank you for the occasional series "Oregonians talk guns" and the installment in Monday's paper that shared Bruce Hamilton's thoughts on the matter (April 29).

Hamilton's common-sense remarks about the three reasons a person would carry a firearm in public -- "they are afraid of something ... they want to have a feeling of power over people ... they intend to commit a crime" -- are lost in our discussion by those seeking to end all discussion by simply saying, "It's our Second Amendment right."

Just because the Second Amendment guarantees us the right to bear arms does not mean that open carry, especially in an urban environment, is the right thing in today's world.

I'm not anti-gun either. I grew up on a farm and have hunted since the age of 8. But I share Hamilton's concern about today's gun culture and the visual media culture that glorifies it.

JIM DILL Tualatin

Federal funding in flux

The sequester has exposed a truth that has been publicly minimized for many years: Washington taketh, but it doesn't always giveth back.

The availability of federal funds for primarily local programs has created a dependency that is now resulting in major withdrawal symptoms. However, this huge pool of "free" money comes from the same source as funding for local and state programs: taxes from you and me.

There will never be enough federal tax dollars to satisfy everyone. The farther away we are from the decision makers, the less influence we have on how the resources are allocated. Maybe it's time for a paradigm shift. Similar to the old admonition about doing something ourselves to assure it's done right, perhaps we should adopt the attitude that if a local program is really beneficial, we should be prepared to pay for it ourselves.

Otherwise, we'll always be on the funding bubble.

STAN LOER Grants Pass

Public health

Thanks to Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer for her efforts to promote healthy choices in vending machines in government buildings.

Like most Americans, I struggle with my weight. If I visit a recreation center, city hall or community health clinic and get hungry or thirsty, I would love to find a machine full of healthy options. As a taxpayer, I also support efforts to help government workers meet their health goals and decrease their health care costs.

House Bill 3403 would create a task force to consider how vending machines in government buildings can better support everyone's health. That seems like a good, common-sense idea to me.

KASANDRA GRIFFIN Griffin is policy manager for food and school health at Upstream Public Health.

U.S. stays strong

Letter writer Steve Tennent ("U.S. falls behind," April 30) wants us to "wake up and wake up soon" to the fact that, when it comes to national defense, the U.S. is playing softball, while the rest of the world is playing hardball.

If outspending the combined military budgets of the next 13 strongest countries in the world is playing softball, then I'd pick an American fast-pitch softball team over the rest of the world's hardball-playing teams any day.